The present invention relates to record cleaning devices and, in particular, to record cleaning devices which attach to the tone arm of a record player.
Record cleaning devices which attach to the tone arm of the record player are known. Such devices obviate the need for a manual cleaning of the phonograph record and insure that the grooves of the phonograph record are cleaned immediately prior to the time when they are played. However, these prior art record cleaning devices add excessive weight and/or inertia to the tone arm thus causing undesirable interference with the normal delicate tracking of the phonograph cartridge. In addition, because of the rigid interconnection of the brush to the tone arm, the playing of a warped record may cause the needle of the cartridge to lift from the surface of the playing record.
One attempt to eliminate some of the disadvantages present in the prior art record cleaing devices calls for a freely rotatable pivot joint to be placed in the arm which links the cleaning brush to the tone arm. This permits the cleaning brush to pivot about a horizontal axis which helps to decouple it from the tone arm. However, such a structure does not alleviate the inertial problems associated with a large mass attached to the tone arm. Moreover, because the cleaning brush can freely pivot about a horizontal axis, it is possible for it to collapse while a record is being cleaned, i.e., to pivot inwardly so much that the brush no longer rests in a vertical plane. This not only diminishes the effectiveness of the cleaning brush, but also may cause the needle of the cartridge to momentarily lift from the surface of the record while it is being played.